Well, we all know that the original Metal Gear Solid was a superb game. No one could quite anticipate the magnitude of hype that was generated for the sequel, and that was from one trailer alone!

Who can forget the infamous scene of Snake bungee-jumping off the George Washington bridge accompanied by an excellent musical score from Harry-Gregson-Williams, composer on top Hollywood films such as Shrek, Spygames, and Enemy of the State to name but a few.

Then there was the graphics; we all knew that Gran Turismo 3 showed just what the PS2 was capable of given the chance. Hideo Kojima, being the legend he is, didn’t disappoint in that area. So far the game had managed to do in one trailer what most game designers dream about in their lifetime, the fusion of graphics and sound to the standard as seen in the latest Hollywood blockbusters.

As good as those areas are, the game is nothing if it does not feature a decent storyline that keeps the gamer engrossed enough to play right through. Just as with the original Metal Gear Solid, the sequel had more plot twists that a chicane at Monaco, but the game, despite its splendour, still had the same fundamental flaws that the original title possessed.

Mainly this was longevity, or the lack of. This problem lead to the release of MGS 2: Substance which padded out the main game with additional VR Missions and also saw Snake move to the Xbox console for what we hope will not be his final appearance. As far as other formats are concerned for the latest MGS title, it is Konami who once again remain tight-lipped, but with the Gamecube getting MGS: Twin Snakes it would be nice for Xbox owners to get a piece of the action as well.

There is no doubt that many gamers are relishing the release of this title. In terms of hype, it is on the same level as the likes of Halo 2 and Half-Life 2. MGS 2 left many questions unanswered, such as the plight of Raiden, a new character to the series, who was sadly shunned by the majority of fans.

It should be no surprise that the latest title concentrates solely on Snake, although this time he has decided to return to his spiritual home which is none other than the jungle. Any gamer who has played the original Metal Gear titles that graced the NES and MSX in the 1980s will know that the jungle was where it all began.

In fact, when the game was first announced and the first screenshots shown to the world, there were many eager fans to quickly think that the latest title was just a remake of the older titles so that fans could keep up with the series. The name of the title could be the key to the whole plot for the latest iteration, ‘Snake Eater’, think about it, the image of a Snake eating itself forms a perfect circle, the circle could then suggest the story is going to conclude and that a few old faces might return for the journey.

It's known that Snake is involved and screenshots showed another character with an eye-patch, that looked very similar to Big Boss who is the father of Solid Snake and who supposedly is dead, but then we all thought Liquid Snake was dead at the end of Metal Gear Solid only for him to make an appearance in the sequel.

It is rumoured that the game will have more in common with the early titles than the next-generation titles and this is another example to the reference of a circle through the use of ‘Snake Eater’. Early video footage of this title showed Snake in full camouflage gear stalking in the jungle. One thing that is certain is that the landscape is a lot more detailed than before although whether the game can be this consistent throughout remains to be seen.

Another reference to the term ‘Snake Eater’ is the fact that Snake now has to eat the remains of jungle wildlife in order to survive, this gives the game a more realistic feel to it instead of just eating a ration when ever you felt like it with the other titles. Another new addition is the fact that Snake can actually swim this time; the video footage on show clearly demonstrated the new found ability, Snake even hid under the water, waited for a guard to pass by before emerging and quickly dispatching him in the style that only Snake can perfect.

Yet another reference to ‘Snake Eater’ is the fact that the game is set in the 1960s, this throws the rumour mill into overdrive as it could be argued that instead of playing as Snake you are actually playing as Big Boss and so you see how Snake develops, the exact method that was used to introduce Raiden to the series. The game seems to want to symbolise the end of an era and the beginning of another and the political unrest that was rife during this period.

The main elements that the game tries to portray are survival, adaptation, and stealth. The environment in which Snake is placed is genuinely, as far as the footage went, very realistic, and one of the main features seems to be the players interpretation of the new environment and how to get the best out of it; survival of the fittest after all.

In the previous titles, you were placed at your point of contact. The latest title places you further away from your objective as in real-life. In real-life, a soldier might start quite a distance from his main objective and then make his way there, so must Snake, the hunting aspect comes into play due to the fact that, upon landing, a few items might have been lost and so Snake will need to find his own source of food, again, another aspect inspired from real-life antics.

Graphical splendour is commonplace. When Snake crawls through grass you can see each individual blade of grass move realistically, and the overall color of the game and the jungle environment is just what you would expect from the detail obsessed Hideo Kojima.

In order to make use of this rich environment and to be able to last longer than five minutes, players must use camouflage wisely to not attract attention. Players can select the outfit they wish to wear in order to blend in as best they can. Face painting is also involved to aid the camouflage process, as you would expect, the jungle is a vast, wide-open environment, and there is no set path through the jungle and there are also different types of foliage that will be encountered.

Snake can now climb trees in order to see where he is and where the enemies are, as well as hide behind logs or climb down small hills, which means that the game offers both horizontal and vertical styles of play. Video footage showed Snake hanging from a tree and shooting at enemies, obviously a new skill he has learned but one we saw in Splinter Cell.

Snake must also fight the elements that he encounters, and his own inexperience with the jungle, although as far as the story goes, he should not really be all that inexperienced. Snake will get cold, hungry and bitten along his journey and it is up to you to protect him. As far as food goes, insects, fish, and small land animals become the new menu.

Another new feature is that Snake is not quite as indestructible as he was made out to be, by this it is meant that Snake can break bones and so not only will this slow him down but he will also have to try and find his own cure. The entire game will not take place in the jungle but will also encompass a small enemy base that must be infiltrated and also a larger base if current trends are to be believed. Along the way Snake might find a small jungle hut which could house medical supplies or something more nourishing than insects and maybe even additional clothing.

The game will not stick to such a strict realism regime as the previous titles, animals may appear that we all know do not exist in that area but only serve to make the game more entertaining, this means that you might see an alligator in the jungle or a particular type of fauna that you know should not really be there. This ultimately means that they are not as restricted in terms of design as they were in MGS 2 which focused on New York City alone and this can only be seen as a good thing.

The enemy AI has always been superb in the MGS titles and this iteration seems to take it to the next level, if the enemy is alerted to your presence by your footprints or by hearing a twig snap then instead of sending as many guards as possible there may only be a small team dispatched who will work together to try and capture Snake but the playing field is more level as the enemy also has no real backup and so in that respect, they are in the same boat as Snake.

They will track Snake or hunt him down and utilise a wide range of weaponry in order to do it such as smoke bombs or semi-automatic and automatic weapons or even stealth and camouflage tactics to try and beat Snake at his own game. Unlike the previous titles, the player is not so heavily guided through it so they must make their own judgement in order to decide where the best route lies, which is another aspect of adapting to the environment.

MGS 3 will be more action based, as if the previous titles were lacking somewhat, so the player can expect intense fire-fights and more emphasis on hand-to-hand combat. Snake may even get to use some specialised weapons in order to get out of a tight spot, which sounds very intriguing. The radar does not play as active a part in MGS 3 as it did with the previous titles, instead the camouflage plays a vital role in helping Snake determine if any enemies are close by and after all, in a jungle, the radar just would not function correctly. As far as the footage seen goes, we currently know that Snake will get to use silenced pistols, machine guns and semi-automatic weaponry in order to complete his mission.

We all know that the appearance of Raiden half-way through the game was quite a shock in MGS 2 and Konami have promised a shock equally as stunning although no character change will commence, the thought of what the shock could be is enough to drive the anticipation of hardened fans to overdrive and to fuel the fire evermore that powers the rumour mill.

The game will support 5.1 audio so that the environment really sounds as it should and for those who have online support there will also be online elements that can be accessed, although online play is up in the air at this time. Regardless, there is no doubt that this game will be something special and as ever, Hideo Kojima is playing his cards close to his chest, but with quite a while to go before it gets released the best, as they say, can only get better.